Does Lakewood banquet hall belong here? This meeting could end nearly decade-long fight

LAKEWOOD - The ongoing battle over the future of Lake Terrace, a popular banquet hall that’s been operating without proper permits in Lakewood’s industrial zone for nearly a decade, may be closer to a solution.

The Lakewood Zoning Board of Adjustment, which has been holding limited hearings on the issue for 10 months, has planned a special meeting to address the banquet hall’s future for Monday, May 20.

Officials and attorneys for both sides hope there can be some resolution to the dispute that has pitted the banquet’s operators against neighboring businesses who claim the catering hall disrupts traffic and causes noise headaches.

“I am hopeful that one special meeting devoted entirely to this would get us to the finish line,” attorney Adam Pfeffer, who represents Lake Terrace, said at a recent meeting, “so we can try and wrap this up.”

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Robert Shea, attorney for the Sudler Cos., which operates several neighboring businesses in the industrial zone, echoed that view.

“We are agreeable to see this matter through as well,” he said. “A piecemeal fashion is not agreeable to anyone.”

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Nearly decade-old fight

The issue dates back to 2015, when Lake Terrace opened as a catering facility at 1690 Oak St., but without the required zoning approval to operate in the industrial zone.

In 2020, Clayton Associates, one of the neighboring businesses, sued Lakewood Township, claiming it allowed Lake Terrace to operate without proper zoning approval.

The lawsuit, which was amended to include other neighboring businesses and landlord Sudler Cos., claimed the operation created an unlawful nuisance.

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Last year, Lake Terrace filed an application for a retroactive permit with the Zoning Board of Adjustment so it could continue to operate as a banquet hall in the industrial zone.

But nearby business owners, including Sudler, have fought the application, claiming it’s not justified and presenting evidence they claim shows the 36,000-square-foot venue causes problems.

Several hearings have been held in the past 10 months, with most limited to an hour’s worth of testimony. Attorneys on both sides have sought a special meeting, claiming the recent meetings do not offer enough time to fully resolve the issue, given the need for evidence to be seen and witnesses to testify.

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'It is pretty much a disaster'

The Lake Terrace property was once a vacant office building with approval to become a school. The school closed in 2009 and in 2015 the building, under the ownership of KBS Mt. Prospect LLC, started operating as a banquet facility without township approval.

Tenants of the industrial park have complained that the events hosted by Lake Terrace result in trash being left behind, property damage and traffic congestion.

“It is pretty much a disaster, parking all over the place, parking on my client’s property,” Shea said. “There are problems with commercial trucks encroaching on the roadway that has been going on for years.”

For example, an outdoor event last year closed streets and halted operations for companies within the industrial park because trucks could not travel to where they needed to be, Shea said during a previous hearing.

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Robert Russin, a Sudler Cos. employee, testified at a March 2024 hearing that employees and delivery drivers found traffic issues regularly from the banquet hall.

“The constant complaints are about traffic, pedestrians walking and people parking in our parking lots,” Russin said. “Mostly complaints from our tenants and a lot of issues with garbage collection and debris.

“We have had tenants complain that if there was a medical or emergency condition, it would be impossible to get a fire truck or an ambulance in place,” he continued.

Past hearings have included lengthy viewing of video provided by the plaintiffs of the Lake Terrace parking lot area and overflowing vehicles and traffic. “Trucks couldn’t even turn the corner to get through,” Russin added.

He cited incidents on Feb. 5 and Feb. 26, 2024, when police were called, but said “they do not usually do anything.”

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Lake Terrace supporters claim that the catering hall fills a need in Lakewood, which has seen its population grow rapidly in recent years. They contend the township has only 10 banquet halls big enough to host a typical Lakewood wedding, often for the predominantly Orthodox community.

While most New Jersey weddings have between 75 to 250 guests, officials said, a typical Lakewood Orthodox Jewish wedding hosts between 400 and 700 guests.

Shea said that Lake Terrace has finished presenting its case with witnesses and experts and said the remaining hearing time will be devoted to his presentation, which will include a private investigator who he claims has evidence from two years’ worth of observations to prove the catering hall has caused unacceptable disruptions.

“I think we can wrap it all up at that time,” he said.

Joe Strupp is an award-winning journalist with 30 years’ experience who covers education and several local communities for APP.com and the Asbury Park Press. He is also the author of four books, including Killing Journalism on the state of the news media, and an adjunct media professor at Rutgers University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Reach him at jstrupp@gannettnj.com and at 732-413-3840. Follow him on Twitter at @joestrupp

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Lake Terrace banquet hall: Lakewood meeting could cement its fate